Snow-melting apparatus.



G. P. VAN WYE.

SNOW MELTING APPARATUS.

APPLIGATIOH NLE 00T. B. 1910.

\ Patent-,ea sept. Q6, 1911.

lHxCcoyd Govan i@ hva/Liar.'

G. P. VAN WYE.

SNOW MELTING APPARATUS.

APPLIGATION FILED 00T. a. 1910.

4 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

Patented Sept. 26, 191 E.

G. P. VAN WYE.

SNOW MBLTING APPARATUS.

APPLIOATION FILED c0128. 1910. 1,004,1 1 3, Patented Sept. 26, 1911.

4 SHEETS-SHEET 3.

@lm N NN o un .V

Inventor: W

Attest:

G. P. VAN WYE. SNOW MELTING APPARATUS.

APPLICATION FILED 0012.3. 1910.

Patented Sept. 26, 1911.

4 BHEETS-BHBET 4,

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

amv r. vnr'wrn, or New Yonx. N. Y.

SNOW-MEETING APPLABAVTUS.

{redhat-len al htterf Patent. Patented Sept. 2 6, 1911.

Application Glad Omber, 1910. Serial No. 58.3904.

Tonltwhmnitmayoomam: l,

Be it khown that I, Ganar P. VAN WYE, u citizen-of the United Statesz residin at New York, in the county and State of ew 5 York, have invented a new yand useful Snow-Melting Apparatus, of whichthe following is a specification.

This invention relates to apparatus for melting snow, and has for its object topro4 vide a suitable device to melt the snow in city streets thereby removing from the streets snow detrimental to tra c.

-Itvis the purpose of this invention to: 1, -provideplparatus which will melt the snow yrapidly t ereby clearing the streets from snow within a short time after it has been precipitated; 2, provide apparatus which will melt the snow with the least possible expenditure of' heat; and 3, provdeappa- L ratos which will use chea fuel in a manner to produce the r uired eat without producing an a precia le amountof smoke.

I- accornp ish. these objects: 1, by previding a melting chamber of considerable i-size, and by dlsposing melting` surfaces' therein in a manner to insure the speedy melting of any snow passing therethrough; 2 by providin apparatus `fo;` `separatm the snow partie es and passing themthroug 1 said melting chamber w ile separated wherethe snow particles will be attacked indivldually by said Vmelting surfaces, and will' be melted indiyidually unde'tel'ied bythe latent heat of any other particles; 3, by pro 5 vidin apparatus in whlch a large pereents a e o the heat units generated by combustlonwill be utilized m meltin the snow; 4, by providi means to distri ute the heat unitsgenerate by combustion 'tothe melti ing surfaces 4in an elfectiveV manner; and 5,

by providin apparatus for burning felin' a substantia 1y smokeless manner. V

In apparatus formelting snow hitherto devised 1t ,has n customary to provide 5 meansV for proyecting the heat into, or, against a mass of snow, or to pass a mass of snow over a heated surface, or'plate. In attacking the snow in this way, only the' surface of the ma is reached as the heat i units will not penetrate the mass. Even where the ma of snow -is mounted over the end of a steam pipe, the steam will quickly form aL chamber within the mass, and possibly channels therethroughhbut then only i the surface of the chamber, or walls of the A'further object t panying drawings, in which-J ber casing being removed to expo channels are attacked by thesteam, and the bod of the snow is melted away only as the sur ace is melted.

It may be observed that a snow flake allowed to light on a persons hand will not remain unmelted a suicient length of time to allow of a clear examination of the snow crystals; but a mass of snow formed into a snow ball can beheld in the hands without the perceptible melting of any of the external particles. Thus, the latent heat of vthe mass of snow forming the snow ba'll 'assists the exposed articles from being melted by the heat o the hands. On the s ame principle, a mass o f snow 'attacked by me ting apparatus will resist the action of the heat; and will not be melted except by the expenditure of an excessive amount of heat units. This may be further observed by the melting of the snow in the spring. Where large drifts have existed, part of the snow forming the same will remain unmelted even when `the atmosphere has been warm for a considerable time, and allthe snow ofl less depth, has long since melted. Some vhave endeavored to meet these conditions' by stirring u :the snow on the ground while directing eated air, or

steam against it; but the method is wasteful of heat energy, and is not effective for the, quick removal offsnow from the streets.

It is the purpose of this invention to pick the snow up, separate it-into small particles,

and 'then .drop these particles through a melting chamberwhich isfalso lled with melting surfaces so 4dis d that stones', pieces of ice, andthe like, may pass throu h without obstructing the chamber, while t e small particles of snow would be certainto 'come 1n contact with one or more of theV melting surfaces.

is 'at burn a liquid fuel, ascrude petroleum, ineway so the hea't. can y be regulatedto the speeeof the a paratus ,alongthe street, and the depth of the snow, wherebythe water will. be delivered from the apparatus, derived from' the melting of the'snow, at a tem erature warm enough to insure the flow of t e same into the sewer. Theinvention is illustrated in the accom- Figure 1, is a side elevation of a snow melting apparatus constructed according to my invention,-a side of the meltngchamt e intie-V i tion of the snow-e of Fig. 3, and showing in elevation one of the furnace; also showthe burners entenn 0 ing diagrammatica y how the melting tubes the interior of the furcommunicate with l nace, and how supported; Fig. 5, is a transverse section of the furnace, a plan of the burners, and adiagrammatlc view of the melting tubes; 6, is a -top planvxew of one of the melting tubes on an enlarged scale, a part being broken away to show the rforations in the bottom of the tube; Fig.

, is a view on an enlarged scale of aporheckfing and isintegratf ing pins, or rods, and; of the su? rting plat: therefor, on the hue 7-7 9 1g.- 1; and, F" 8, is a sectional elevation, on an` enlarge scale draw' like numerals of reference r to thxggssame parte in each of the views. As shown invtbedrawngs'l have roap ratus adapt to use a liquid fuel, althougnl do notlimit my invention to the use of iquid fuel as the essential artof my invention does not cnsist of e special plan for burning an kind of fuel; but is directedto the'princi le of melting snow by an ap aratus adap to carry the4 snow to a su cient eight to. al low it to dro a distance t enough to insure the me ting of the snow in consider- V able quantity; the further essential .feature of the .igiven fon is the disntegrating of the mass o snow so that it can be attacked by e melting apparatus `as a a mass. ,It is my object, too, to provide m ans for the utilization of a large percent! age of the he t units generated by the combustion ofthe fuel in the actual work of melting snow and to distribute the heat in such a wa .as to bring it n v direct contact with all o -the meltingsurfaces, and then to allow vthe heated air and gas to escape -into the melting chamber in a well distributed manner.

While Ivhave stated that my invention in its main features does not include the gasifying and burning apparatus; yet, under presentimethods of burningfuel, a liquid fuel seems production of heat in suliicient' quantities without the production of smoke to an appreciableextent; and for this reason I have illustrated and described my carbureter with considerable minuteness.

c6 I mount a furnace 1.2, preferably made of- As shown in the drawin apparatus on struck consisting of front wheel# 9, rear wheels 10,l and a frame 11. Midw y between the front and rear wheels top plan view thereof; Fig. l 'nea of a carbureterwhich I may4 ada ted to 'the asesof combustion. As shown in part. in

bein particles and not 'a staggered to offer thebest ,means for-the our to the frame 11, by bolts 13, or in any desired manner. As I lprefer to use liquid fuel ina gasied condition, the furnace is quite slirtin length; but I prefer to make it of considerable width and equal to the len h of the sweeper 14, so that the snow gat ered up b the sweeper will pass to the meltin chamber without being condensed lateral y.

I prefer to make the walls of the furnace 12, of considerable thickness so that when heated the will not be quickly cooled, and also that t e walls may form a firm support for the meltng'tubes 15, which are screwed into the si de walls of the furnace,

these melting tubes is shown ou an enlarged scale and partl in section, in Fig. 6. f shown, the en 16, is'serew-threaded and be screwed into one ofthe walls oft e furnacel2. On the outerend Imount a ca 17,-to completelyclose the tube, and the` ttom-'of tbetubs is 'gprovided with a plurality. oirpetfortiolls 1 ,through'which gasesofcombustion and heated au: from escapeand it is my the furnace 12, may' V y purpose that these perforations in the tubes 5, shall form the only ue, or outlet for the these melting tubes are agonally, or rather, i dia onally with reference to the furnace 12,.w ereby the several rows19, of melting tubes run downward at anangle, asshowmthe rows spaced some distance a art so that shou d a stone, or like obstruction enter Athe melting-chamber '29, it will pass vdownward between the rows 19, of-inelt-i tubes, and can be washed out throught e discharge tube 21, by the water of the melted snow. The tubes 15, however, are placed comparatively close together in each row 19, but in position with reference to the tubes inthe preceding rows so that the'snow falling ve v ically after being separated into particle will engage with .the diferent tubes at different levels, and will not'be held by the tubes at any one level.' These tubes are preferably placed in such a stagl red-relation that a particle of snow in fa ing would strike'a tu e 15, about every Thus,- if the mass of snow passing through the melting chamber was so greatthat t 1e upper tubes would be chilled thereby to a point where they would not melt the particles, or only partially melt the snow particles, the lparticles, or partially-melted particles wil 'drop to the nexttube, and so on arranged until fully melted, and when melted the water therefrom will engage tubes at lower.

levels until heated to a suflicient degree so that 1t can be discharged through the tube 21,v hot enough to insure reaching the sewer without freezing.

and comzI municate with the inte -orthereot One of i Acast iron in sections, which are sefourth row.V

las

As in practicethe tubes 15, are made quite small, I have provided supporting bars 22,l

i of each row of tubes 19, as will be clearly seen.

In delivering the snow Vto the melting chamber, the sweeper 14, is mounted on brackets 24, on a platform 25, pivot/ed at 26,

1g to brackets 27, which may be secured to the furnace 12, as shown, or to any suitable suport. This platform 25, may be controll y a bell crank lever 28, link, or rod 29, and

' lever 30, from the drivers seat 31, whereby l; the sweeper 14, may be raised from the' around, as will be readily understood. Thi."

platform 25,when the sweeper 14, is in operative position, rests upon a support 32, on

the axle, at which time a pinion 33, mounted n on a shaft 34, extending transversely of said platform 25, is in ,mesh with a gear 35, op-

eratively cpnnected with one of the wheels 10.

On the other end of the shaft 34, is mounted a sprocket wheel 36, connected by a sprocket chain 37, with a sprocket wheel 38, on the sweeper 14, whereby the sweeper 14 will be rotated when the pinion 33, is in mesh with the gear 35, as will be 'readily understood.; but as this 'pinion is` carried 3u by the frame, or platform 25, it is evident that when the platform is raised by the lever 28, the pinion will be out of mesh with the gear, and the sweeper, 14, will not be rotated.

Pivoted on the lower end of the platform 25, is an apron 39, which may swing on the ivotal connection 4U, as indicated in dotted ines, so that the lower edge of this apron will ride upon the snow at whatever depth 40 it may be, as will be understood. Passing around the platform 25, is an end lcss apron,` or carrier 41, which may be provided with ribs 42, and which may be operated by a sprocket chain 43, from a sprocket wheel 44,2111 the shaft 34. which is larger indiameter than the sprocket wheel 36,con"

trolling the sweeper 14, while the sprocketl wheel 45, controllingthe carrier is smaller rthan either the sprocket wheel 36, orthe sprocket .wheel 38. Thus, while the shaft 34, Y will be rotated quite rapidly by the pinionV 33, and the sweeper w-ill also be rotated,'as designed, about six times as fast' as the vehicle advances. the carrier will advance 'still faster so that the snow being swept thereon Eby the sweeper will be carried upward s'o rapidly that it will not. accumulate on the. carrier equal` to one-sixth the depth of the snow on the ground, which would be the 60 case if the carrier moved at the same speed the sweeper rotated. Thus the snow on the 'carrier will be thinned byI the rapidity of motion of the carrier, as will be readily understood. 0b I further separate the mass 0f Snow bya petroleum, or crude o1 'where it is brush,or sweeper 46, mounted in brackets 47, which is controlled by aepimon 48, m mesh with a gear 49, operat by the carrier mechanism;l and as the carrier is carried at A'greater speed than the sweeper 14, rotates, 1t is evident that the sweeper 46, will rot-atc more rapidly than the sweeper 14, and the gear mechanism will make it rotate in the same direction as the sweeper 14, so that the snow will be swept from the carrier by the sweeper 46, directly into the melting chamber 20, and in-a further scattered'condition, as will be readily understood. To further break up, and divide the snow mass, I have provided dependent rods 50, which may be loosel hung in a plate 51, so that they ma be ree to swing to a limited extent, as wi l be evident from Fig. 7 g and these rods will not only assist in tearing the snow into particles, but will reventr the mass of particles from beilli-g riven by the sweeper '46,;to the forwa side of the melting chamber 20, and will cause the particles to drop in a distributed manner in all parts of the melting chamber. The melting chamber 20, is made up of the furnace 12, the melting tubes 15, forming the filles for the furnace and also the melting surfaces, and an inclosinlg casing 52, having an opening 53, in w ich the swee r brush 16, is partly mounted, and in whic it is free to move inward a short dis tance when the platform 25, is raised. lAs shown inthe drawings, provision is made for burning a lit id fuel, as gasolene, In order to avoid all smoke, or substantiallyV all smoke from a fuel of this kind L prefer to burn the fuel -in a gasicd. condition, or as carbureted air. With this end in view Ihave provided a blower, .as 54, whichmay be run by a gasolene engine 55. The-.carbureter is particularly shown in Fig. 8 and the arrangement of lppes is shown 1n -Iligs 1 and 2.

shown, air sses from the blower through the i 6,'into the -furnace 12, didn led @on litself, as clearly shown in dotted lines in ,/Fig. 2, so that when the pipe emerges from the furnace at 57,

Athe airwill be s uilieiently lheated toabisorb considerable oil vapor and cause the' voil to va rize while passing through the same.V is pipe 56, is then carried to the `carbureter 58, which itenters, als shown in 'Fig 8, and is carried downward within a 12| perforated chamber l9wherel it ends. An oil tank 60', is provided4 from which o pipe 61 leads' into the carbure'ter 58, andthe admission of oil from the tank to the carbureter is regulated by a loat valve 6 2, which is so regulated that the chamber 5 9, will always be submerged; and when the heated air is blown intol the same through the pipe 53, it will pass out of this chamber through the perforisntiona` 63, in the walls thereof in The flow of air through the pipe, is

controlled by a valve 67, and a cut oli' pipe is provided, as G8, which. connects the pipe -56, as it leaves the blower, with the portion thereof entering the carbureter; and this connecting pipe is provided with a valve 69. Thus if the air passing into the carburetor through the furnace 12, is heated too much to properly gasify the liquid fuel, the valve G7, may be partly closed, and the valve 69, may be opened to a greater or less extent, as may be desired to produce the proper carbureted air for burning. Thus too, is provision made foradiriitting air from the blower to the tube 65, without having it pass through the carburetor. This is accomplished by the intersecting pipe 70, having a valve 71, through which air may be allowed to pass from the blower directly to the burners 4should the air from' the earburcter be .toehghly charged for burning prcperl The" them of the furnace 12, is closed b v a late 72,' in which may be mounted a pluraiitytof enlarged tubes 73, lar er than the burners' 66, and preferably o Vgreater length, so that when the carbureted air is blown into the furnace and ignited it will carry with it suliicient air to sustain combastion, drawing the air upward through the tubes 73. As the tubes '(3, are regulated in size corresponding with the burners it is evident that theproducts of combustion will not return through these tubes, but,

will pass outward through the melting tubes 15, and escape through the prforations 18,

therein, and out of the opening 53, in the casing 52; butbefore assing out of the casing it is evident the ieat units will be almost entirely extracted by the incoming snow. I may also provide a cap, or .hood 74, for the top of the furnace, conical in shape in cross section, to prevent the now resting on top of the same.

The operation will be readily understood from the foregoing description, taken with .the accompanying drawings. The engine 55, having been started, and the furnace 12, heated, by the as described, the platform 25, is lowered until it rests upon the support 32, atL which time-the sweeper will .be on the ground, and the pinion 33, will be in mesh wth the gear 35, so thatas the apparatus is drawn forward, the sweeper 14, will be rotated. Aa

the apron 39, always rests upon the snow, and the sweeper 14, xs rotated with the furnace to chill the,`

thereinto in .finely separated particles,

burning ofthe carbureted air4 hands of a clock, it is evident that the snow will be driven b the sweeper upon the earrier 41, and wi be' carried upward to the brush, or sweeper 46, which will further tear it apart and drive it int-o the melting chamber where it will come in contact. with the looselynmounted rods, or wires 50, and will he further broken up and will be diret-ted downward upon the melting tubes 15. As these tubes form the dues from the fur-r nace, it is evident that the heat from the furnace will keepthe same constantly` and as the. gases of combustion also pass hot,

from these tubes it will be from the under .i

side so that tbe gas will pass around the tubes upward thereby assisting in keeping 'the tubes hot and also in melting any snow which may come 1n contact therewith.. In

this wav nearly all of the beat units gen- 'y eratcd by the combustion of the fuel willbe utilized in actually melting snow, as will be clearly seen, and these heat units will be directed against the snow while the snow' is in finely divided particles thereby placing it in the very best condition for melting easily since the cold contained in any particle of snow will'not materially aid any other particle in resisting the heat energy. Then, too, as the heat ascends upward, andas the snow, and water therefrom always descends, as the upper tubes become cooled in the inciting process the lower tubes will catch thedescending particles 'and partly melted snow and will melt and heat the same to a proper temperature for discharging.

By burning liquid fuel in the manner de scribed, no provision need be lmade for smoke, and should the water from the discharge pipe be t-oo cold, additional an' may be turned on thereby increasing the heat energy at tibewill of the' (Lnperator. The apparutus can thus be readily controlled and rregulated to' obtain the heat required to n elt the snow whether the Vfall be a light one. or a heavy one, and also according to lthefspeed-'l'nf the apparatus along vthe street;

'when the snow would be picked up more or less rapidly. Having thus described my invention what .I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States, is ,y

1. A snow melting apparatus' comprising a melting chamber, means to pass aux]iA a lmeans to Aapply heat to said particles while separated: l

2.` A snow melting apparatus comprising a melting chamber, means to carry snow to the upper part thereof,vand .means to separate the snow into finely divided vparticles while elevated. and drop the separated4 particles through sa'id melting chamber.

3. A snow melting apparatus Vcom rising a Ineltin chamber having plura ity of.

separate heating surfaced/and rneans to a melting chamfber havin drdpjsnow on. said surfaces in l se'arated? particles. P

4i- Aheat'ap lying apparatuacomprisi a chamber, a urnace, or the like :noun therein, aplurality .of tubes mounted in the side walls'of said furnace and communicant"` ing with the interior thereof, and means to drop the material to be acted upon on said tubes iny finely divided particles.

5. A `snow melting apparatus comprising a furnace, means to introduce a gas thereinto and burn the same, a plurality of tubesl forming the iiues for said furnace, and means-to drop snow on said tubes in separated particles.'

6 A snow melting apparatus comprising a melting chamber, means to carry snow to the u per part thereof, and means to separate t c snow into comparatively small particles and dro the same through said chamber in a distributed manner.

7. A snow melting apparatus com rising a melti4 'chamberxhavmg a plu'ra ity of separate heating surfaces, means to carry snow above said heated surfaces and separate the same into comparatively small particles' while elevated, and means to distrib- -ute the separated particles over sa'id heated surfaces.

8. In a snow melting apparatus, a tube communicatin with the combustion chamber, said tubeeing closed at the outer end, and 4having a pluralit -of perforations in the bottom thereof, an means to drop snow on saidY tube in separatedparticlesl 9. A, snow melting apparatus comprising a combustion chamber and a pluralit o tubes communicati with the interior thereof each of whic is closed at the outer end, and is pio vided with a plurality of perforatons in the bottom thereof, and means to carry snow to the up er part of said cha'mber and drop it on salclltulfes in separated particles.

10. A snow melting apparatus comprising a melting chamber having a combustion chamber and a plurality of tubes communicatin with the interior of said combustion cham er, each of said tubes bein closed.at the outer. end, and having a plurality of perforations in the bottom4 thereof. eans to carry snow to the upper part of sa" Vmelting chamber,- and means to separate said snow into comparatively small particles and drop the same on said tubes whileseparated.

11. A snow melting apparatus com rising a melting chamber, a carrier adapt to deliver snow to the upper part of said chamber, a sweeper adapted to sweep the snow from the street onto said carrier, and a second sweeper adapted to sweep the snow from said carrier into said chamber.

12. A snow melting apparatus comprising a melting chamber, a carrier adaptedto de- ,bustion chamber, and a p liver snow to the upper part of said chamber, a sweeper adapted to sweep the snow from the street to said carrier, a second sweeper adapted to sweep the snow from said carrier into said chamber, and means to operate the carrier and upper sweeper atuqo a greater speed than the lower sweeper.

13. A snow melting apparatus comprising a' melting chamber, a carrier adapted to deliver snow to the upper part of said chamber, a sweeper adapted to sweep the snow from the street onto said carrier, .and a swinging apron pivotally connected with the lower end of said carrier and adapted to ride on the snow in front of said sweeper whereby the snow from said sweeper is directed onto said carrier.

14. A snow melting apparatus com rising a melting chamber, a carrier adaptedp to de' liver snow to the upper part thereof, a sweeper adapted to sweep the snow from the street to said carrier, a second sweeper adapted to swee the snow from said carrier into said cham r, and means 'within said chamber to check the snow from said sweeper at different points longitudinally of said chamber. 1

1.5. A snow melting apparatus comprising a melting chamber, a carrier adapted to deliver snow to the upperpart thereof, a sweeper adapted to sweep the snow from the street onto said carrier, a second sweeper adapted to sweep the snow from said carrier into said chamber, and a plurality of pendant rods within said chamber in staggered relation adapted to engage the snow from said second sweeper, for the purpose set forth.

16. In a snow melting a paratus, a comliirality of tubes mounted in the side walls and in communication with the interior thereof, said tubes being closed at the free end, and being prvided in the bottom thereof with a plurality of erforations.

11i. In a snow melting a paratus, a combustion chamber, and a p urality. of tubes mountedv in the sidewall thereof and in communication with vthe interior, said tubes being arrangedin diagonal rows and being sta gered relative, to each `other vertically, am? each tube being closed at the outer end and provided with aI plurality of perforations.

18. In a-snow melting apparatus a combastion chamber, means to pass air through a liquid fuel and burn the carbureted air within said chamber, anda plurality of per- .forated tubes forming `the flues for said chamber, for the purpose set forth.

19. In a snow melting apparatus a com- .busti'on chamber, means to pass air through" a' liquid fuel and burn thecarbureted air within said chamber, a pluralityy of perforated tubes forming the iues for said chamber, and means to drop snow on said tubes.

20. In a snow melting apparatus a combustion chamber, means (to pass air through a liquid fuel" and burn the carbureted air within said chan'ibel,4 i; lurality of perforated tubes forming t e fines for said chamber, and means to drop-snow oriksaid tubes in comparatively small particles:

21. In a snow melting apparatus ill-'Rpmbustion chamber, means to pass air through said chamber and through a liquid fuel and burn the carbureted air within said chamber,

- a plurality of perforated tubes communicating with said chamber,

and means to drop snow on said tubes.

22. In a snow melting apparatus a com` h Awill drop substantially vertically from tube to tube, part of said tubes having a pluralit bustion chamber, means to pass air throng said chamber and through to burn the carbureted air within said chamber, a plurality of perforated tubes mounted inthe Walls of said chamber and forming an outlet for the products of combustion, and means to drop snow in comparatively small articles on said tubes.

23. 'he herein described snow 'melting apparatus comprising a melting chamber a liquid fuel and' composed of a combustion chamber and o.

plurality of perforated tubes forming thev outlet for the products of combustion, a carbureter and means to pass air through the same and burn the carbureted air within said chamber, a carrier, a sweeper adapted to sweep the snow from carrier, a second. sweeper adapted to lines the snow from said carrier into said inschamber, and a pluralit of dependent ro adapted to distribute e snow within said melting chamber, for the purpose set forth.

Acsnow meltin apparatus com rising a furnace, means to 'urn a fuel wit inthe same, a lurality of tubes forming the ues of said mounted above the others whereby the snow of perforations through the wall `thereo and means to dro snow onsaid tubes. Y,

Dated at New ork, this 7th day of October, 1910.

GARRY P. VAN WYE Witnz- L. Fnla'nuaz", E. A. Wss'r.

the street onto :seidY rnace, a part of said tubes being` 

